Talking about silence: Gender and the construction of multilingual identities

Abstract

This paper concerns identity, multilingualism, gender and silence. It draws upon poststructuralist discussions on the role of language in the construction of identity, particularly in relation to gender and bilingualism. As gender is socially constructed, negotiated and performed through language, it differs between cultures and involves different relations of power. A bilingual person, specifically, a bilingual woman, can, therefore, construct and perform identity in different ways depending on context and may employ strategies in different ways between contexts, such as in the interplay between speech and silence. Silence as a phenomenon has been viewed in the context of the exercise of power between dominant and subordinate groups, especially in male-female relationships, and the ways in which the oral contributions of the “muted group” are excluded, constrained or devalued. Furthermore, it has been noted that there are different social sanctions between cultures that may silence women in different ways. This discussion explores some of the roles that speech and silence have played in the life of one multilingual person of Asian heritage. In doing so, different scenarios of empowerment through the role of translator and apparent disempowerment documented within a group of female friends are addressed. The paper examines the ways in which individuals may both work within and against cultural expectations in relation to the discursive practice of silence.

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